11 October 2023 , 06:00
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The Prince and Princess of Wales have always been determined to let their children grow up as normally as possible.
This was a decision the couple made right at the start of their parenting journey, even in the months just after their oldest child Prince George was born in 2013. At that time, the couple opted against hiring a nanny, like many royals before them. Instead, shortly after he was born, the royal couple moved into Kate's family home with her parents Michael and Carole Middleton, who helped out.
But when they moved out by themselves and started to care for a young baby while juggling their royal duties, things seemingly became difficult. And according to a royal expert, it prompted Kate to make an emotional admission.
Kate with oldest son Prince George (PA)During the royals' annual visit to Sandringham for Christmas, royal author Katie Nicholl says the now Princess of Wales opened up to the late Queen about how difficult she was finding it. Speaking on the True Royalty TV's documentary Kate Middleton: Heir We Go Again, Katie explained: "Kate was having a conversation with the Queen in which she confided that she had found being with George on her own, and not having a full-time nanny or a maternity nurse, very hard.
"William and Kate wanted to be hands-on parents, and they did it until September and then they recruited a nanny." Nicholl claimed that they learnt from George and when Princess Charlotte was born, one of the first appointments was a maternity nurse.
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Parenting writer Kelly Rose Bradford added: "I think despite their good intentions first time around, Kate and William did soon realise they couldn't hold down their jobs and also care full time for their child." Since George's birth in 2013, William and Kate have welcomed two more children - Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Kate with the late Queen (Getty Images)Now the children are older, Kate often still does put them before duty - and it is something she will be doing next month. She's backed out of attending Prince William's glittering Earthshot Prize Awards due to the couple's eldest son sitting exams in the same week.
A senior source explained: "The Princess will not be attending. Prince George has exams that week and the Princess wants to be at home to support him." Kensington Palace has refused to comment on what exams future king George, 10, will be taking. However, the preliminary entrance exams for Eton College, known as ISEBs, occur at that time as the Earthshot Prize during the first week of November. Several other elite private schools also use the exams.
George has been spotted visiting Eton, which his father William and uncle Prince Harry both attended and is widely expected to attend the school. He is currently a pupil at Lambrook Primary School, along with his younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Lambrook, however, only teaches students until age 13.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were spotted in June touring the campus with their eldest son. It's possible that in three years, the young prince will attend the all-boys school, which is located near Windsor Castle, where the family now live after leaving Kensington Palace.